December 03, 2010

Guilty plea from O'Hare contractor in minority fraud probe

The owner of a supply company that has received $84 million in city business, including work on the O’Hare Modernization Program, pleaded guilty today to mail fraud for falsely claiming to be a minority-owned business.

Aurora Venegas, 61, of Naperville entered the plea before U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dow and faces as much as 15 years in prison.

The guilty plea stemmed from a smaller contract in Orland Park where in 2005 she acted as a subcontractor in order for the main contractor to meet the goals for minority and woman-owned business participation in the contract with Metra and the village.

Venegas acknowledged through her attorney, Joseph Duffy, on Friday that another firm actually supplied landscaping for the project but she filled out the paperwork indicating she was actually supplying the services. The landscaping firm then added 5 percent of its cost on the bill to pay her firm, prosecutors said.

Venegas and her husband, Thomas Masen, operated Azteca Supply Co., which is now out of business. She was charged with five counts of mail fraud and Masen was charged with two counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to a federal agent.

Prosecutors said Masen set up a warehouse in Franklin Park near the O’Hare project to make it appear it was a legitimate concrete pipe business. According to the indictment, the company fraudulently received $9.6 million between 2001 and 2008 on two projects at O’Hare International Airport, including a runway expansion.

Mayoral candidate Gery Chico’s law firm was hired in 2004 by Azteca to help expand its city business. Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for Chico, said Chico’s law firm was only involved with helping Venegas “expand her minority certification which she was qualified for.”

Venegas was scheduled to go on trial on Monday and the plea came without an agreement to cooperate. Her husband is scheduled to go on trial next February.

The investigation began as a review of minority contracting by the city Inspector General’s Office.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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